Back on the Board: Two Surfing Comebacks, 17 Years Apart

By: Greta Stuckey

While it is easy for some professional athletes to retire after a traumatic injury or life altering event, Bethany Hamilton always finds herself back on her board in the Pacific ocean.

Like every other day of the year, Bethany Hamilton grabbed her surfboard and headed to her favorite spot along Tunnels Beach, Kauai on Halloween day in 2003.

What she didn’t know was that a shark would attack her that day and change her life forever. Exiting the water with her left arm bitten off by the shark, Hamilton was lucky to survive the attack at the age of 13. Not only did she survive, but she got back on her surfboard just three weeks after losing her arm.

“I have always been very driven, ever since I was a little girl” Hamilton said to the Hollywood Reporter. “I’m not the type to let little bumps in the road slow me down.”

Hamilton was only 14 years old when she made her comeback in the professional surfing scene. Winning the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) in 2004 and 2005, Hamilton was the best professional surfer under the age of 18 and she accomplished it all with one arm.

Later in life, Hamilton had the same perseverance to get back on the board after her first, second and third child. As a mother, Hamilton has learned to balance her professional surfing career with three young boys. With some time off, the now 31-year-old surfer has the goal to qualify for the WSL Women's Championship Tour in 2021.

“Entering Motherhood was a whirlwind and I definitely had a lot of doubts,” Hamilton said to the Hollywood Reporter. “I realized that I would still be able to surf even though I wasn’t quite sure of how things would pan out.”

Hamilton's first son was born in 2015, her second in 2018, and her third son was born in January of 2021. Similar to her comeback after getting her arm taken off by a shark, Hamilton was back on the board within weeks of giving birth this year.

“Motherhood was the most beautiful gift I have ever received,” Hamilton said. “Having kids was more than a little bump in the road because your body is completely transformed and your focus is also spread out more.”

These days, Hamilton can be found along the same beach in Hawaii surfing alongside her husband and three sons. Her oldest son is surfing on his own and she harnesses her younger sons onto her board and rides the waves.

While the time constraints of being a mother has changed Hamilton's life, her drive to compete and become the best version of herself never changed. With multiple movies, books and her own website, Hamilton represents the strength of the human mind and body.

When making her documentary, Hamilton was originally skeptical of naming it “Unstoppable” because she didn’t think of herself as a higher being. However, after reflecting on her experiences as a surfer, survivor and mother thus far, she realized how unstoppable she truly is.